The Return of Escaflowne
by AKS
Summary: Some time has passed, and Hitomi finds herself missing Van. On her return to Gaea, she finds a lot has changed. A strange girl appears, and is somehow linked to Hitomi's visions. What is her connection to Hitomi and Van?
1. Prologue

Escaflowne's Return   
Disclaimer: Vision of Escaflowne does not belong to me. End of discussion.   
  
Prologue   
"Please, Grandma! Please, don't send me! I'm...I'm afraid."  
"You must go. You must go and save your parents."   
A little girl with long night blue hair knelt before her grandmother. She was wearing a simple purple dress.  
"Please, don't make me go."  
Her grandmother patted her head. "Don't be afraid."  
The little girl rubbed her eyes and stood up.   
"Alright."  
"That's my girl. Stay still."  
The woman raised her hand and the girl started to glow. She floated a few feet off the ground.   
"Grandma? What are you doing?"  
The woman didn't answer, her eyes focused only on the girl.   
"Grandma!"  
The girl was still floating, but she was no longer a girl. She had been turned into a teenager. She stared in wonder at herself. Her hair reached down to her feet. Her dress had been replaced, and now she wore a white shirt and blue pants. Black boots were on her feet.   
"Grandma, why have I been turned into a someone else?"   
The woman didn't answer. Instead, she handed the girl a sword.   
"Now go," said the woman. "And be careful."  
  
A white light shot through the darkness, engulfing the girl. She glanced at her grandmother.  
"Goodbye, Grandma."  
"Goodbye."  
  
Then she disappeared.  
  
The woman stood, watching the flecks of light dance to the ground. "Don't fail me...."  
  
  
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	2. I: A Small Longing

Author's Note: Gomen a million times. I'm really sorry for not uploading more chapters, but with school and everything, well heh you get the idea. ^_^;  
  
  
  
Disclaimer: Escaflowne does not and will never belong to me.  
  
  
  
1 Chapter 1: A Small Longing  
  
  
  
Hitomi raced through her school, not stopping once for breath. I'm late! She thought. Yukari is going to kill me. She ran down the stairs and stopped a few feet form a girl sitting on the bottom step.  
  
"Hi Yukari! Sorry I'm late," panted Hitomi.  
  
Yukari turned and glared at Hitomi. "You better be sorry! I was waiting here for five minutes. You are fortunate for having a forgiving best friend."  
  
They walked to the racetrack. Hitomi stretched and ran a lap for warm up. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Amano come up behind Yukari and hug her. Hitomi saw Yukari turn around in delight.  
  
Amano? Hitomi thought. That's strange. I thought he went to America.  
  
"Hitomi! Come say hi to Amano!" Yukari called from the sidelines.  
  
Hitomi smiled wanly as she walked towards them.  
  
"Hi Hitomi!" Amano reached out and ruffled her brown hair that was tied in a ponytail. She protested loudly and swatted his arm out of the way.  
  
"What are you doing here?" Hitomi asked. "I thought you left for America."  
  
"I didn't want to go," Amano said simply. "Then I would be leaving Yukari."  
  
"You're such a sap," Yukari squealed.  
  
Hitomi watched the two of them chatter on and on. Her heart twanged with a sadness that she could not explain. "Yukari," she said.  
  
Yukari stopped talking to Amano. "What?"  
  
"I'm going to cut practice short today."  
  
Yukari's face took on a look of concern. "Are you okay?"  
  
"Yeah." Hitomi picked up her bag and started to walk away. "Bye, you guys."  
  
"Bye!" called Amano and Yukari.  
  
"I guess you're free, then." Hitomi could hear Amano's voice over the shouts of the children who were playing soccer.  
  
"Yes," answered Yukari.  
  
"Wanna go out for dinner? My treat."  
  
Hitomi couldn't hear Yukari's reply. She walked faster.  
  
Oh Van. She thought. I miss you.  
  
A single tear dropped from her eyes.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Author's note: hihi! I've gotten lazy(er) so the chapters are pretty short. I promise that I will have another chapter or two up by the end of this week, 'kay? ~_^; 


	3. II: If Only She Was Here

AN: Hi! Just like I promised, here's another chapter for YOUR enjoyment, so please, please, please review, ne? *sigh* Yes, I know. I broke my promise. It's almost been 3 weeks since I last worked on this. I was too busy with my CCS fic. Heheh  
  
  
  
And on with the story....  
  
Disclaimer: I still don't own Escaflowne and its respective characters.  
  
  
  
Van sat in his throne, bored out of his mind. It was perfectly sunny outside, yet he was stuck inside listening to a bunch of who-knows-how-old delegates from kingdoms all over the country.  
  
"King Van," said one advisor. He was a representative from Asturia. Van couldn't care less about what the advisor had to say. "King Van," the advisor started again.  
  
"What!?" Van said, a little irritably.  
  
The advisor looked taken aback, but held his ground. "King Van, we have an agreement, then?"  
  
"What agreement?" Van concentrated his attention on a piece of fluff on the floor.  
  
The advisor sighed inwardly with exasperation. "That you will find a bride to be your queen by your 18th birthday."  
  
Van felt like growling. This had been the fourth meeting this week regarding this topic.  
  
The old advisor looked over his glasses. "All the kings in this country feel the same as we do. It isn't proper to be unmarried so long. You need a heir!"  
  
Van opened his mouth to contradict the advisor when a knock on the door interrupted him. Oh no. Van groaned. Not another advisor. "Come in," Van called  
  
Allen Schezar stepped into the room. Van breathed out slowly. The advisors' wives all adored Allen and Allen just played along and pretended to like them. Van knew that Allen did like those kind old women that treated Allen like a grandson.  
  
"Well, now. King Van." Allen said the word "King" as if he was mocking Van. "Am I interrupting something?"  
  
The old advisor who had been speaking shook his head. "No, Allen. We are just about down here." The man looked at Van quite severely. "So we have reached agreement?"  
  
Now Van was desperate for those advisors to get out of the meeting room. "Yes, yes of course. Now, if you please." Van swept his arm towards the door, and the men rose and left.  
  
When the last man left, Van sighed to himself and slouched in his chair. He was seventeen, for goodness sake, and he was in a throne, bored to death.  
  
"Well now Van," said Allen. He smirked at Van. "What a sight you are."  
  
Van didn't speak. He stared, slightly regretful, out of the large windows that graced the room.  
  
"Van?"  
  
Van ignored Allen. If only she was here, thought Van. If only. She would have made all this kingly stuff more durable.  
  
If only she was here.. 


	4. III: Deja Vu

**AN: **Because the format got weird, I rewrote this chapter.    
**Disclaimer**: When pigs fly.  Get the drift? Not mine…*sob*   
  


**Just a Little Déjà vu   
Chapter 4**  
Thoughts= //  
  
/It's just a little déjà vu   
  
That I'm alone and feeling blue   
  
I dream of the time when it's just me and you

But until then, it's déjà vu/ 

Hitomi sat down on her bed.  The bed squeaked as she flopped down backwards.  She closed her eyes and all she could see was the field overlooking the sea.  She was walking; grass brushed past her legs.  She spread her arms and let the wind blow over her.  

/Van/ she breathed. /Van/

A figure appeared before her.  "Hitomi." 

/Van?/  Hitomi ran toward the figure.  /Van!  I'm here.  I'm staying.  Forever./

She reached the figure and put her hand on the figure's shoulder. The figure turned around.  

The face!  The face was gone, and in its place was blackened space.  Then she saw eyes, and the eyes began to bleed.  She screamed.

NO! HE WAS NOT VAN! Panicked, Hitomi backed up, shaking with fear and horror. Then her foot slipped and she was falling, falling into an oblivious darkness.  
Hitomi sat upright in her bed, terrified. "Not Van." Her voice caught. "Van." 

Hitomi buried her face in her hands, her hazel tinted hair sliding over her shoulders, and sobbed miserably.  
  
**********************

Hitomi opened her tear-sticky eyes and glanced at the digital clock that lay on the dresser beside her. The numbers glowed red in the dark: 3:47 AM.

She ran her fingers through her incredibly tangled hair and swung her legs over the side of the bed. Picking up her blinking pager, she saw that Yukari had called five times. She sighed. She wasn't in the mood right now to have Yukari chatter into her ear.

The curtain covering her open window fluttered softly. Hitomi shuffled over to the window. The moonlight streamed into her room when she drew the curtains back.  Staring back at her was the full moon.  /Just like the first time I met Van/ mused Hitomi.  She touched the windowpane and traced the moon's fat silhouette.  The moon began to drip blood under her fingers.  

Hitomi stared at her fingers, and then back at the moon.  The moon was slicked with blood.  Something was dripping.  The moon was red now.  

Hitomi squinted at the moon.  At first, she could only make out the profile of a girl kneeling in the air.  Then, it was as if she got closer, and she could see that the girl was had her hands bound in front of her.  

And then Hitomi saw the sword, coming out of nowhere.  

"WATCH OUT!" Hitomi screamed.  She pounded the glass with her fists.  "BEHIND YOU!  WATCH OUT!"

The sword went in the girl's chest.  Her head whipped back, and her long hair covered the hilt of the sword.  The girl swallowed, and Hitomi saw her throat move as if she was choking.    

Hitomi pounded the glass once more with her hand.  The girl raised her bound hands to her chest and gripped the sword protruding from her chest.  She looked down at the sword and then back up into the sky.  "Grandma."  Hitomi could see blood bubbling out of the girl's mouth.  "Grandma," the girl repeated again.  "I'm sorry.  I couldn't.  I couldn't sa…" The girl gasped.  She fell to her side and disappeared.

Tears slid down Hitomi's face, and she pressed her face to the window.  The girl was gone.  The room began to spin, and dip.  She clutched desperately at nothing.  The room folded into darkness and Hitomi let herself fall.  

She landed on the floor with a hard thump.  Her back and neck throbbed.  Hitomi opened her sticky eyes, her head swimming.  She stared up at the white ceiling, tears still streaming from her eyes.  The curtains flapped helplessly around the open window.

Hitomi lay on the floor for half an hour.  She was just there, like another piece of furniture in her room.  

And then she came to realize that she was lost.  She didn't belong here. There was nothing here for her anymore.  She brought her hand to wipe the tears away and struggled to get up from the floor.  She grabbed the knob of her desk drawer and pulled to haul herself up.  The drawer slid easily out of the desks and hit the floor, spilling papers and a wooden box. .  

Hitomi swore, and began to clean up the mess.  Her hand brushed against the smooth box.  

"Where did you come from?"  Hitomi frowned quizzically as she pried open the stubborn lid of the box.  She turned pale when she saw the contents of the box.  She dropped the lid.  Lying there in the box was her life from memories ago.  She had packed them all away when she returned to Earth.  These memories stayed locked in the back of her mind and in the back of her drawer.  

With trembling hands, she reached into the drawer and brought out her tarot cards.  They were lying on top of all her Gaian memoirs.  She touched the top card lovingly. She had given up fortune-telling a long time ago. Hugging the cards close to her chest, she crawled back onto her bed and flipped over the top card.

Hitomi gazed dumbly at the card. Pure coincidence? Memories of the last time she told her own fortune flooded her head.  

Staring back at her was the card La Torre.  
  
  
  



End file.
